Irritating
by Midnight's Shining Star
Summary: He always pestered the raven, trying to get a rise out of him. Odd how a simple twist of fate can change one's life forever. Sort-of AU. T for mild swearing and some violence/death themes. Oneshot.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Another oneshot, yes. I wanted to do something like Curious Irony only in Itachi's POV and I didn't want it to be the same story because...that would be sort of redundant I guess. **

**This fic is slightly more serious and more or less inspired from some real life events. **

**Sort-of AU-ish. Potential OOC-ness. **

**I don't own Naruto. **

* * *

_**Irritating**_

* * *

_Of all the people in the world, why me?_

Silently, Itachi sighed to himself and shook his head. Couldn't the annoyance leave him alone for just once?

"What's wrong Uchiha? Bothered, un?" the intruder sniggered from the doorway, arms crossed and body leaning up against the frame.

Itachi chose not to answer and instead focused on his reading. He could only hope that lack of conversation on his end would cause this, _interruption_, to leave him in peace. Though, that was highly unlikely.

"What, too high and mighty to answer me, un?"

Just as he expected. If he wasn't Itachi, he might have already thrown his book at the intruder. As it was, it was becoming increasingly harder to keep from strangling the boy.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, Uchiha! You can't just-"

"Deidara, stop loitering around and get your ass over here. You know I hate waiting."

"Yeah, yeah, coming danna, un" Deidara yelled back out the door. Turning back, he sent one last glare towards Itachi before spinning on his heel and marching out of the room.

Itachi let out an uncharacteristic sigh of relief. Thank kami for Sasori's opportune appearance. He had been _this_ close to lashing out at the blonde.

Getting up, he silently crossed his room and locked the door. Really, it didn't matter if he did that. Deidara would just bomb the lock, or worse, the door itself if he couldn't get in. All the same, it provided some sense of false security, if only for the moment. The only hope he really had of being left alone for any length of time would be for the blonde to leave on a mission.

He really should invest in some explosive-proof doors.

Then again, that might only lead Deidara to try bombing the wall. Itachi didn't put it past the kid. Besides, Kakuzu wouldn't go for it anyhow.

Itachi shook his head. Why Deidara harassed him on a daily basis, he really couldn't tell. No, Itachi knew the blonde hated him; that wasn't it. The question was, _why. _Maybe the kid was still upset over the "I-forced-you-to-join-Akatsuki" incident, though a smart person would really blame Pein for that. Well, maybe he had been the one to physically _drag_ Deidara with them, but he wouldn't have been forced to such extremes if the blonde had just conceded to his defeat. Of course, Kisame and Sasori had really been no help whatsoever. After all, he had been the one doing the "fighting," the dragging, and the putting up with the young bomber. It was annoying.

Quite honestly, he hadn't really cared in the first place. Sasori had been in need of a new partner and Pein had ordered them to go and pick up Deidara. It was simple. Or so he thought. He hardly expected Deidara to be as young as the kid was, and he hardly expected to be met with such resistance to joining Akatsuki. Normally, this was a sort of honor among rogues, but the blonde had launched into some sort of tirade about art. Oh, maybe that was why Deidara found need to bother him every living second of the day.

The blonde was passionate about his work, apparently, and Itachi couldn't care less. It wasn't that he thought Deidara's work was inferior in any way, he was just, indifferent. He was Uchiha Itachi; he didn't bother with things like art. This was what seemingly irked the blonde so much.

If he was completely honest, Itachi would have to admit that the boy had skill. But, he also had quite the temper. Deidara had promise, but his emotions got in the way of things. Petty.

Yet, Itachi wondered; if Deidara hated him so much then why hang around him? True, Deidara was far from civil when he talked to the raven, but empty threats and practical jokes seemed to be as far as the blonde went. It was almost as if the blonde was attention-seeking. But no, Itachi preferred to believe that Deidara's train of thought was mostly irrational.

Clearing his mind of the obstreperous, loud-mouthed brat, as Sasori would say, Itachi turned back to his book. He might as well enjoy the silence while it lasted.

* * *

"Hey, Uchiha, didn't know you were actually capable of human speech, huh!"

"Just so you know, you're a total buzz kill and that's the only possible way you could actually beat people. Just bore them to death, un!"

_Crash!_ "Oops, was that _your_ plate? _Sorry_"

"By the way, leader-sama wanted to see you like, an hour ago. I'd get a move on if I were you, un"

_Boom!_ "Oh, I guess I didn't realize you were sitting there. You know, because you're just so _invisible_"

"You must have some sort of personality disorder. Normal people actually do something called, _smiling_, heh!"

"Remember when I told you that idiot Tobi stole your weapon stash? I guess I forgot that I had them. But I don't think you want them back anymore, un!"

"Did you want that? My bad, you should have said something, oh wait, I forgot about your vow to silence."

"I don't think you belong on this planet. There's just something about your eyes…"

"So _that's_ where I left my clay. Guess I don't need it anymore though, heh"

"Do you ever change your expression? Or is your face perpetually stuck that way?"

"Were you always this indifferent or was it a gradual change over time due to some traumatic brain injury as a child?"

_BOOM! _"I guess I just forgot to alert you beforehand, un"

"Sorry, I was here first. You're just gonna have to wait until I'm finished."

"Someday you're not gonna wake up to this world anymore, un!"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're _such_ a perfect person? Perfectly horrible, in fact."

"Genius is only another word for asshole, un"

_Crash! Boom!_ "Oh, you were _alive_? Sorry, I couldn't tell."

Itachi rubbed his temples after Deidara was called by Sasori to, "Quit wasting time and start getting ready for the damn mission already, brat."

His patience was really starting to wear thin with the blonde boy. Months of continuous insults or "accidental" bombs thrown his way were quite irritating. One would think by now that he would have either gotten used to it or done something about it already, but neither had happened. He had tried to tell Sasori to control the smart-aleck blonde, but Sasori's response had simply been, "If he's not bothering me or hindering our progress, I don't give a _damn_ what he does. You deal with it. It's your problem after all."

Itachi had wanted to point out that the boy _was_ Sasori's partner and, as the older of the two, the puppet master had some accountability for what his younger partner did. As such, if Deidara was bother to anyone it was _Sasori's _job to put the blonde in his place. But Sasori wanted to deal with it about as much as Deidara wanted to leave Itachi alone. That is, not at all.

He could have asked Pein for an intervention, but that might be over the top. Though, at this point in time he was seriously considering it.

What he couldn't understand was why Deidara consistently pestered him, day in and day out, when the blonde wasn't on a mission or busy with Sasori. He thought after a few weeks, Deidara would just get sick of this game and move on. But that was not the case in the least. Honestly, it wasn't as if he goaded the blonde on. He remained indifferent the whole time. Maybe that was the problem. Though, he knew that if he actually did lash out at Deidara, then it would only give the blonde a reason to further the torment. He just couldn't win.

* * *

"You know, you're a rather depressing person Uchiha, un"

Itachi sighed to himself, exasperated, though he didn't show it.

_Here we go again_

"I'm not in the mood for your petty antics today."

"Oh ho, what's this then? The almighty Uchiha has actually deemed me worthy to make conversation with? I'm speechless, un."

Itachi turned around to face the blonde who had a lazy smirk plastered on his and, like most times, was leaning in the doorway of Itachi's room with his arms crossed.

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Not really"

"Why don't you go find Sasori?"

"Naw, danna's on a solo mission today" Deidara drawled.

_Just my luck_

"Just leave"

"Hey, I'm only trying to be _neighborly_, un"

_By torturing me_

"Hm, well, actually, I should be going now. Don't think this is over Uchiha, un."

Itachi looked on in slight surprise as Deidara unexpectedly left.

_Maybe he's finally bored of this whole charade_

Itachi failed to notice the small spiders crawling under his door until it was too late.

_BOOM!_

_Or not…_

* * *

It was odd. Itachi hadn't known such silence since kami knows when. Deidara hadn't bothered him since the last time he had destroyed the Uchiha's room; over two weeks ago. By all means, he should have been _pleased_.

But he wasn't. Only confused and slightly angry with the blonde. After all, Deidara had gotten him used to constant badgering only to stop suddenly. He could have at least told the raven.

Itachi rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to smack his head against the desk. This was what he wanted all along and now that he had it he seemingly wanted Deidara to pester him again. How irrationally ironic.

He got up.

The first few days he simply ignored it. Deidara did go on missions, though he usually knew when the blonde was assigned one, and the blonde was known to act spontaneously. Maybe he had just been waiting for something big.

But a week went by, and no Deidara. Two weeks and still no sign of the blonde. Now he was beginning to wonder if something happened to the kid. Sasori too had been absent and he wondered if that had something to do with Deidara's disappearance.

He wandered around the base until he found Deidara's room, and stopped for a moment. What was he even supposed to say to the blonde? He shook his head. So what did he care what happened to the boy? Still he wanted an answer.

"Deidara?" he called, knocking on the door. The blonde may have been far from nice to him, but at least Itachi had the decency to knock.

"Deidara?" he called again, upon receiving no answer. "Are you in there?"

Receiving no answer for the second time, he slowly turned the handle on the door and let himself in. The first thing he noticed was the obvious smell of clay the room had. Looking around, he was slightly surprised to note the blonde's room was actually fairly well ordered. He saw a bag of what he assumed could only be clay on the desk, along with a few papers and some rusted or broken weapons. Other than that, the room seemed almost spotless.

"Deidara?" he called yet again, though he knew by this point it was futile. Deidara didn't appear to be in the room and quite frankly, it didn't appear that he had been in there for a while. He could tell the items on the desk hadn't been touched for quite some time and the bed which was neatly made didn't seem to have been slept in recently. Giving one last glance around the room, he left, shutting the door softly behind him.

Deidara hadn't been in his room for a few days at least. Itachi thought as he walked. The only logical conclusion was that the blonde was on a mission. But, he generally knew when that happened. Deidara made _sure_ Itachi knew when he was leaving and when he came back. Something was amiss.

Itachi found his way into the kitchen where his partner Kisame was having lunch. Kisame looked in obvious surprise at seeing the Uchiha at this time of day. Normally Itachi would be in his room. But, he gave Itachi a sharky grin all the same.

"'Sup Itachi?"

"Where is Deidara?" he deadpanned. He didn't know if Kisame knew anything, but he asked all the same.

"You mean he's not here? Strange…maybe leader-sama told him to find Sasori."

"Where is Sasori?"

"He went on a mission a couple weeks back, didn't the kid tell you?"

Itachi frowned.

"Why do you ask? I thought he annoyed you. Anyways, he's probably just hiding somewhere."

"He's not here."

"What makes you say that?"

"He hasn't bothered me in a while. And his room hasn't been used."

"Eh, forget about it Itachi. I'm sure the kid's just pulling some stunt. It's not like it matters to us anyways."

Itachi stood for a moment, contemplating.

"I'm going to find him" he declared, and turned out of the room before Kisame could make an appropriate response.

* * *

Hours of searching later, Itachi had nothing to show. He had checked the whole base and, after deeming the blonde to be nowhere in or around it, he left to check elsewhere.

Yet, he was still met with no success. Kisame was probably right, he shouldn't care. If Deidara was really missing, they probably would have heard about it from Pein. Then again, given the circumstance, they were _technically_ supposed to make sure Deidara stayed in the regional base while Sasori was on a mission. Even though there was no spoken order, it was rather a given that if Pein discovered Deidara was missing he would blame Itachi and Kisame for not being vigilant enough. That being said, because it was a regional base, maybe Pein didn't know where Deidara was. Unless, like Kisame said, Pein had told Deidara to find Sasori. Yet, it was strange that neither he nor Kisame knew anything about it.

He turned to go back. It really wasn't his problem. Someone else should deal with it. He stopped. He sensed a familiar presence.

Carefully, he made his way towards the chakra signal, trying to pace himself as he hurried. The signal had been weak.

He came to a cave-like opening under a sloping hill surrounded by brush and undergrowth. As he approached, he thought the figure was sleeping, or worse, dead; he wasn't moving, slumped against a rock. But Itachi knew he couldn't be dead, the raven had sensed chakra, albeit weak.

As he got closer, he found that neither was true. The blue eyes snapped open almost instantly, taking in the new presence, and would have given a seemingly annoyed expression, were they not laden with hidden pain.

"Heh, so they sent the almighty Uchiha after me, huh?" Deidara's tone was meant to be insulting, Itachi could tell, but it didn't sound quite that way. Actually, the boy only sounded tired.

Itachi took in the appearance of the younger Akatsuki. His face was dirty, pale, and there was a long, thin cut running down the side of his exposed cheek. He seemed to be shivering and his breathing was uneven. One arm wrapped almost protectively around his abdomen and his left ankle seemed painfully swollen. He looked absolutely miserable.

All this Itachi observed in the matter of an instant. Slowly, Itachi walked closer to the blonde and knelt down so that he was at eye level with the other.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, choosing to ignore Deidara's question for the time being.

"Right, because you totally care, un" Deidara scoffed, grimacing a bit as he talked. It was clear that the boy was trying to hide some obvious discomfort.

"Deidara"

"Does it really matter?" the blonde bit back angrily. Clearly he was averse to telling Itachi anything.

"Yes"

"Whatever. Looking for danna, un"

"Where is Sasori?"

"Do I _look_ like I _know_?"

"Do you?"

"He's gone, un" Deidara said simply, almost wistfully. Itachi contemplated the possible meaning of this for a moment.

"You mean, dead?"

"Did I _say_ dead? No, not dead, just gone, un"

Itachi gave the blonde a questioning look, rather unamused. He didn't have time for petty games. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that Deidara wasn't quite playing games with him.

Deidara sighed.

"He's gone, un. He was s'posed to come back but he didn't. He's late" Deidara explained simply and cringed. It almost seemed as if talking was painful for the blonde.

"Are you hurt?"

It was an obvious question, but Itachi asked anyways.

"Why do _you_ care?"

"So you are hurt"

"I'm _fine_"

Itachi's lips pressed in a thin line. Deidara _wasn't_ fine, and they both knew it.

"What happened?"

Deidara hung his head and didn't answer. For a moment, Itachi thought the blonde was just being obstinate. It was then he realized the heavy breathing and fist clenching. Deidara was in _pain_.

"Deidara?"

"H-he didn't come back, un" Deidara swallowed, seeming to control his breathing for the time being. "He was supposed to be back last a few days ago like me - I got assigned to something else – but he wasn't. So I went to find him 'cause I knew where he was supposed to be and…he was here but he left…he said he'd be back but…"

The words came out rather slurred and barely coherent. Itachi noticed Deidara clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Itachi…" for once Deidara's voice didn't seem to have any sort of jeering in it. None, not even any hints that he wanted to be nasty to the Uchiha. Instead he sounded, desperate, almost. "Itachi…I…don't feel so good…"

Itachi looked into the blonde's eyes and saw them glassed over with pain. The sudden behavior change almost shocked the Uchiha, and he knew the pain must have intensified for Deidara to admit that.

Itachi moved closer and placed a hand on the blonde's quivering shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

Deidara breathed heavily and grasped Itachi's arm. Itachi felt Deidara crushing his arm in an iron grip.

"I…it…AGH! Ohh…it…_hurts_"

Itachi frowned as he pried Deidara's arm off his own to check the blonde's pulse.

_He must be in excruciating pain or else he'd never act this way._

He found Deidara's pulse to be beating at an alarmingly rapid rate. The blonde once again clutched at Itachi's cloak and held onto it like a lifeline.

Itachi decided against asking Deidara again. The boy was in so much pain and could barely form coherent words. Itachi would just have to figure this out on his own.

Looking down, he noticed again how Deidara had one arm wrapped precariously around his stomach. Itachi pushed the arm away gently and lightly pressed on the blonde's abdomen, earning a cry of pain from the blonde as Deidara only gripped Itachi's cloak tighter.

Itachi frowned again. There were no visible injuries; he'd been aware of that from the start. Which meant, the injury was internal. Deidara needed a doctor. Immediately.

Carefully, Itachi moved one arm under the younger Akatsuki's head and another under his legs, being mindful of the blonde's swollen ankle as well. Deidara gasped at the shift in movement and shivered, still clutching Itachi's cloak in a death grip.

"It's alright" he mumbled down to the suffering blonde, "It's alright"

He held Deidara close as he quickly ran. He cursed Sasori's name under his breath. According to Deidara, Sasori had been there. So why did he leave his partner? Sasori should have been there.

Itachi felt the grip on his cloak loosen a bit and he spared a quick glance towards the young shinobi he was carrying. Deidara's eyes were closed and he could only assume the blonde had lost consciousness. He ran faster, but not towards the Akatsuki base. No, they were too far away, a good three hours at least. Deidara didn't have that much time.

Instead, he ran towards a village which he knew was nearby. There should at least be a doctor there. Hopefully.

* * *

Ice blue eyes fluttered open and gazed up at him. He sighed in relief. Neither shinobi spoke for the moment, and the only sound was the soft beeping of some sort of machinery.

Deidara's tired eyes roamed the room a bit before landing back on Itachi.

"Where are we, un?" Deidara asked quietly. It seemed unnatural and led Itachi believed the blonde was still hurting quite a bit.

"At a doctor's office in a village some three hours outside of the base"

Deidara shifted his position a bit, trying to get comfortable. Itachi noted that the blonde seemed exhausted and seemed to be in quite some pain despite the painkillers he'd been given.

There was another moment of silence.

"Danna's not coming back, huh?" Deidara suddenly spoke up. Itachi turned, slightly surprised to hear this.

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean…I told you I didn't say he was dead but…dead…gone…what's the difference? I went to find him…because he didn't come back, un. We were supposed to be back at the same time; I forgot I had a mission. Remember the day I blew up your room? I was supposed to leave then but I forgot, un. I thought danna was going to be mad at me since I was going to be late getting back and we were supposed to leave on another mission after that, but he wasn't there. So I went to look for him…"

Deidara paused for breath and closed his eyes a moment as his face twisted up in pain.

_At least that explains why leader hadn't sent anyone to look for them yet…_

"I went to look for him because he wasn't supposed to be going that far from the base. And…I found him; fighting Kumo ANBU. There were so many…twenty…fifty…hell, a hundred…well, at least twenty, un. So I helped him fight them. But…we were badly outnumbered. They chased us for a while. I…ran out of clay since I had left one of my bags back at the base. I didn't think I'd need it…and they outnumbered us…so they beat me and…I couldn't get up…"

Deidara closed his eyes again. Itachi hardly blamed the blonde, but he knew it was a blow to Deidara's pride.

"Danna moved me and told me to stay put. That was about a day or two before you came. He said he would be right back but…he wasn't. I…I'm not stupid, un. I heard the jutsu they used…it was loud and danna didn't go far. They left after that…I didn't sense them…they weren't far from where I was…and they left. They didn't die, they left, un. Then you came…I thought you were danna at first but…I just didn't see it so I didn't know. I guess it's obvious, un"

Deidara wasn't looking at Itachi anymore, but off to the side. Now Itachi understood why Sasori wasn't there. He had protected his partner after all.

"It's not your fault"

"Tch…yeah right. Why'd you even help me anyways? You hate me, un."

"You were in need, and what makes you say that?"

"You mean you don't?"

"You annoy me sometimes. I don't hate you though."

"You hate my art. You look down on me"

"I don't understand you"

Deidara looked curiously up at Itachi at that. His tired blue eyes gazed deeply into Itachi's dark onyx ones, questioning.

"You're completely different from me, Deidara. I simply do not understand you"

"Huh…"

Deidara seemed to contemplate this for a moment.

"On the other hand" Itachi continued, "I believe you hate me."

"Partially true. You mocked my art and forced me into Akatsuki; I'm supposed to _like_ you?"

"Touché"

"But…" Deidara began slowly, "I suppose I was just trying to figure you out, un"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. It made sense, in a roundabout way.

Deidara closed his eyes.

"I'm so…tired…danna's gone…and it's my fault…"

"Get some sleep" Itachi advised. Deidara seemed to be distressed about the whole Sasori issue. It was only logical. The duo argued many a time but Deidara looked up to the puppet master as a sort-of parent figure.

He got up and made his way to the door in order to leave Deidara to rest.

"Itachi? Don't leave…please…"

Itachi turned around, shocked.

"Don't leave, un…" the blonde begged quietly.

Itachi walked back towards the bed and sat down on his chair again.

"I thought you hated me" Itachi mumbled, but Deidara didn't seem to hear him. Instead, the blonde grabbed at Itachi's hand and smiled faintly before drifting into sleep.

It clicked. Sasori. Deidara didn't want to be left alone again. Itachi had always thought solitude never fit the blonde. Even if Deidara wouldn't admit it, Itachi was a comforting presence to the younger shinobi.

* * *

Itachi stood behind the young blonde, watching him carefully. Though Deidara had mostly recovered from his injuries, he was still weak from the massive amount of blood loss he had experienced. If Itachi was honest, he was worried about Deidara. The boy didn't quite look normal yet, and he caught Deidara grimacing at the lingering pain from both the severe injury and the aggressive surgical procedure. He should have just brought Deidara back to Akatsuki, but the blonde had wanted to come here.

They stood in the midst of what used to be a battlefield. Charred trees, trampled grass, and broken, bloodied weapons littered the area. Itachi could tell where there had been bodies lying, but they were gone now. Most likely picked up by their comrades left alive or taken by other ninja for bounties. Only one body remained.

Deidara walked forward, one hand molding something with the few last bits of clay he had left. Itachi watched, expression unchanging.

Deidara came back, silently clutching his stomach as he stumbled over a charred piece of wood. His ankle had been shattered.

"You alright?"

"Yeah"

"Ready?"

"Yeah"

Fingers raised in a seal, Deidara silently released the jutsu as they turned to walk away. They left the scene behind them in flames, nothing would be left after the fire burnt to the ground.

Itachi placed hand on the blonde's shoulder, causing them both to stop as Deidara turned to look at the Uchiha. Deidara face was slightly pale and his eyes seemed to convey a whole set of emotions at once.

_It's not your fault_

His eyes conveyed missing words to the blonde.

_Yes it is. You know it. He did fine without me_

Deidara bent his head for a moment.

_Stop tormenting yourself. You have what I lack. Don't lose it._

Deidara looked up.

"He became art, un"

The words were spoken softly with a low chuckle following. A small, sad smile crossed the blonde's face for a brief moment.

_It's alright_

Itachi rubbed the blonde's back soothingly.

_It's alright_

"We should go"

"Yeah"

_I'm sorry_

* * *

**Owari**

**Please review :)**

**Ja ne**


	2. Alternate Ending

**A/N: Well, I liked this as a oneshot but ilovemyboys requested an alternate-ish ending for this story so, here you go! I'm so sorry this took so long! I was busy graduating xP But enough of that. Hope you enjoy! (also, I am uploading all the other requested stories you gave me...sorry the took so long! u.u)**

* * *

_**Irritating (Alternate Ending)**_

* * *

Itachi ignored the, "where-the-hell-have-you-been-these-past-couple-da ys?" look that he got from Kisame upon his return. Kisame then turned his gaze towards Deidara who barely acknowledged the other's presence. Kisame looked like he was about to say something, but was silenced by a single glance from Itachi.

Deidara sighed and brushed past the other two, making his way to his room. Kisame turned back with a questioning glance towards Itachi.

"There was an accident. It's nothing that concerns you" was all the raven said before following Deidara.

Kisame nodded at Itachi's explanation, accepting it. He never did understand his partner.

* * *

"Leader's gonna kill me, un" Deidara said softly as Itachi entered his room.

"You don't have to tell him yet"

Deidara chewed his lower lip and ran a hand through his hair.

"He'll find out eventually. What's the point in delaying it?"

Itachi looked the blonde over. Deidara looked exhausted.

"You're tired. Get some rest and do it tomorrow if you must"

Deidara nodded and Itachi got up.

"Itachi?"

The raven stopped.

"Do you…do you think…oh, nevermind…un…"

Itachi turned to look at Deidara who had his arms crossed and was staring at some blank space on the wall.

_It's not your fault_

Deidara turned to face him.

_You weren't there. You don't know_

There was a seemingly long silence.

_It's not your fault. Just rest. It's alright_

Itachi offered a rare, small smile of encouragement to the blonde before leaving.

He went to his room and picked up his book, trying to clear his mind. For a while, it worked. He focused on nothing but the words on the page, forgetting the world around him. Eventually, his thoughts drifted back and he didn't try to stop them.

As much as he wanted to have the whole thing done with, it was nowhere near over. Deidara would still have to explain to Pein what had happened to his partner and why their mission was not complete. Itachi would probably be called too since he was the one who had found Deidara. Then there was the question of a new partner, Deidara and Sasori's mission, and of course, the blonde's recovery.

Itachi thought of Deidara as a somewhat delicate object. The boy was so spontaneous that Itachi could never tell what he might do, or not do. It was worrisome, especially when the blonde showed no tendency towards normalcy in the immediate future.

A sudden rumble of thunder was heard outside and the pattering of rain on the roof began. A bolt of lightning suddenly illuminated the room for a brief moment before all light went out. Itachi sighed. Power outage. He decided to check on Deidara, make sure the blonde was sleeping. It was only a thunderstorm but, he somehow felt the need to do it.

Cautiously, he eased his way down the halls to the blonde's room. He knocked lightly and, receiving no response, opened the door slightly. His eyes fell on Deidara's sleeping form, and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. As quietly as he came, he left. He was about to go back to his room when he sensed something, more likely, someone, sneaking around the base.

Without making a single sound he went to the entrance of the base, and waited. His eyes almost widened as he recognized the chakra and quickly, opened the door to the base.

"Itachi" the figure nodded towards him. Itachi gave a small nod back in recognition.

_Sasori_

"Is Deidara here?" the puppet master asked gruffly.

Itachi only nodded again.

"He was injured badly. Where is he?"

"I know. He's sleeping."

Sasori eyed Itachi for a moment as if he wasn't sure if he believed the Uchiha.

"You were dead" Itachi said, plain and simple.

"Excuse me?"

Itachi only raised an eyebrow as if to say, "You know what I mean."

Sasori crossed his arms and snorted.

"You said the brat's sleeping? I won't wake him up then. We're leaving early tomorrow."

As if that explained his disappearance and sudden reappearance, Sasori left towards his room. Itachi tilted his head. Interesting.

* * *

Itachi was up early the next morning, as usual. Sasori came and joined him in the kitchen, neither shinobi acknowledging the other's presence. Kisame came in shortly after and stood in surprise for a moment at seeing Sasori.

"Is there something on my face?" Sasori asked boredly.

Kisame shook his head and shot Itachi a look. Itachi supposed he really owed his partner an explanation. One of these days…

"Where's the brat?" Sasori grumbled.

"I'll get him"

Sasori raised an eyebrow

"He hates you. And you find him annoying"

"I'll get him" Itachi insisted, leaving a somewhat stunned Sasori.

Itachi hurried off to the blonde's room. Like the night before, he knocked quietly and receiving no answer, slipped inside.

"Deidara, wake up" he said softly, making his way to the bed. He hardly had to try very hard as Deidara awakened almost as soon as he got to the bed. He could tell immediately that Deidara's sleep had been by no means _restful_.

"What, un?"

"Sasori's here"

Deidara's eyes widened then narrowed.

"What?"

"Sasori's here" Itachi repeated

Deidara got up quickly only to hold onto his stitched up abdomen in pain. He sat back down and got up slowly.

"But…I…there was…_you_ saw!"

"I know. I don't have an explanation. He's waiting"

Deidara didn't need much more encouragement. The blonde quickly dressed himself and followed Itachi out of his room.

"Slow down" Itachi mumbled as Deidara once again clutched at his stomach from a sudden movement. Deidara didn't seem to hear him though, his mind only focused on one thing.

"Danna!" Deidara shouted, almost bursting into the kitchen.

Sasori turned to look at his younger partner.

"You look terrible, brat" Sasori deadpanned, and he wasn't far wrong. Deidara's face was pale and his eyes tired from restless sleep. An arm was held lightly in front of his stomach and he leaned up against the wall as if he needed it to support his weight.

"You're alive, un…" Deidara said in a near whisper.

"Of course" Sasori said, as if that was the silliest statement he had ever heard. "Now sit down brat, before you fall over"

Deidara pushed himself off the wall to oblige his partner.

"But I saw-"

"That doesn't matter. I changed bodies. That's all. How'd you get back here? You were injured."

"Itachi, un"

Sasori looked up momentarily at the Uchiha whom he just seemed to notice. His gaze was questioning and Itachi knew Sasori was wondering how his partner could ever speak of the Uchiha so calmly.

"I thought I told you to stay put" Sasori said finally, turning back to Deidara.

"Yeah, well, you also said you'd be right back, un"

"That's beside the point. I couldn't find you when I did come back. I told you-"

"He would have died if he stayed there any longer, Sasori" Itachi stated evenly, interrupting uncharacteristically and glaring right at Sasori. He did blame Sasori a bit for not being there, what, with his sudden disappearing and reappearing act.

Sasori glanced back at his partner.

"Go back to bed Deidara" the puppet master said, noticing Deidara's disheveled state.

"Don't we have a mission, un?"

"Not today. Go."

Deidara nodded slowly before getting up and leaving the room.

"I can take care of my own partner" Sasori growled, turning back to Itachi once Deidara had left.

"Like you did with the Kumo ANBU?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"I had it worked out."

"Why didn't you come back sooner, in that case?"

"I had _business_ to take care of"

"He couldn't wait, Sasori. He would have died. He was bleeding internally. He was in _pain_."

"You should have waited. He's my partner. I knew what I was doing."

"Waited for what? For him to bleed to death? He thought you were dead. He was hurt badly. He needed immediate medical attention. You left him"

Sasori didn't seem to have a comeback to this as he mumbled to himself.

"I thought he annoyed you"

"That has nothing to do with the situation"

"How did he even let you help him? He hates you"

"I told you, he was in pain. Intense pain. He needed help and he thought you were gone."

Sasori glared for a moment.

"Whatever" was his only answer as he stalked off.

_That's a fine thank you._

* * *

Sasori let himself into his blonde partner's room, not bothering with the formalities of knocking.

"Sasori-danna?" Deidara looked up in surprise from where he had been sitting on his bed, molding clay.

"I thought I told you to get some rest not play with your stupid clay." Sasori grumbled halfheartedly. Itachi's words from earlier were rather haunting him.

"_Waited for what? For him to bleed to death? He thought you were dead. He was hurt badly. He needed immediate medical attention. You left him"_

Though he had argued with Itachi, he _was_ grateful for the raven's help. More or less, he was angry with _himself_ for leaving Deidara so long. He hadn't thought it was that bad – Deidara had a tendency to play down the seriousness of an injury – he should have known better.

"I'm fine, un"

Sasori's head snapped up.

"No, no you're not fine! You nearly got yourself _killed!_ You idiot, why'd you even come after me in the first place? I can handle things myself!"

Deidara jumped at the tone Sasori's voice had taken, then winced and wrapped an arm around his stomach as the sudden movement had caused him to jerk his healing injury painfully. Sasori took notice of this and grumbled under his breath.

"Something wrong, danna?" Deidara asked calmly.

Sasori got up, grumbling.

"Just get some rest, brat. We need to leave for that stupid mission as soon as you're healed."

Sasori left the room, leaving his partner slightly confused.

_Stupid brat…if he ever does something like this again…I'll kill him._

* * *

**_A/N_: And there you go! Hope it wasn't too suck-ish...I ran out of ideas towards the end...**


End file.
